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Gamida Cell raises $40m

The financing round, led by new investor Shavit Capital, will support Gamida Cell’s Phase 3 trial of its NiCord bone marrow transplantation product.

Cell and immune therapy technologies company Gamida Cell has announced the signing of a $40 million financing to support the ongoing Phase 3 trial of the its FDA Breakthrough Designated clinical-stage product, NiCord, to facilitate bone marrow transplantation. The financing is being led by new investor Shavit Capital. Additional primary participants include new investors VMS Investment Group and Israel Biotech Fund, as well as existing investor and major shareholder Novartis. Current shareholders Clal Biotechnology Industries (CBI) and Israel HealthCare Ventures (IHCV) also participated in the financing.”We are very pleased to have the strong support from both new and current investors as we continue to advance our lead product NiCord through late stage development and toward commercialization,” said Gamida Cell President and CEO Yael Margolin, Ph.D. “With this financing, we are well-positioned to complete the Phase 3 clinical trial of NiCord with the goal of bringing this lead product candidate to market and filling an important unmet need in bone marrow transplantation for blood cancer patients who cannot rapidly find a fully matched donor.”

Gamida Cell plans to use the proceeds to complete NiCord’s Phase 3 clinical trial and prepare for product commercialization by expanding its in-house manufacturing capacity, and the company’s presence in the US, as well as continuing to develop additional pipeline products such as CordIn for rare genetic diseases and NK cells as a treatment for cancer.

“The financing announced today provides important support for Gamida Cell’s innovative product pipeline, which has the potential to change the clinical application of cell based therapies. We are excited to take Gamida Cell to the next step towards becoming a commercial global company based on innovative oncology therapy,” said Gamida Cell’s chairman of the board Julian Adams, Ph.D.

Gary Leibler, founder and managing partner of Shavit Capital, said, “Gamida Cell has a highly impressive management team, shareholder base and board of directors. These, combined with the strong clinical data of the Company’s pipeline products, attracted the attention of first tier international financial investors and pharmaceutical companies. Gamida Cell is now on course to complete its primary goal of developing its flagship product, NiCord, to address a multi-billion dollar market and help the many patients in need of better therapies.”

Andrew Ng, Head of Healthcare of VMS Investment Group, added, “We are pleased to join this distinguished group of investors and support this promising company. As a Hong Kong-based investment group with a strong healthcare presence and network in Asia, we are committed to supporting Gamida Cell with its Asia development and ultimately enabling more patients with high-risk blood cancers to benefit from this life-saving technology.”

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news – www.globes-online.com – on June 19, 2017